A grand European tradition

Some fans of the Eurovision Song Contest believe that it is a more important contribution to building a harmonious Europe than the European Union.

Hard to measure, perhaps, but someone should ask the opinion of Lena Meyer-Landrut, an 18-year-old from Hanover who will be singing Germany’s entry in this year’s competition, being staged in Oslo on 29 May.

She has diplomatic connections, being the granddaughter of Andreas Meyer-Landrut, who was Germany’s ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1987-89. Her uncle is Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, sometime spokesman for Germany’s permanent representation to the EU, later the spokesman for the European Convention chaired by the former president of France, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing.

The chorus of her song, which is entitled “Satellite” includes the line “Like a satellite, I’m in an orbit all the way around you.” There may be a subliminal message here, but seeing how Germany has been blocking attempts by the European Space Agency to award a €1.25 billion contract to a consortium led by a Franco-Italian company, Meyer-Landrut should hope that no one takes her too literally.

There is something splendidly parochial about the state-aid investigation launched last week by the European Commission’s competition department into JC Decaux, a French advertising company. The question …